On-campus recruiting coordinator suspended after fast mailings

ATHENS - Georgia did a bit too much on some recruiting envelopes, the U.S. postal service did too good a job delivering envelopes, and the result is an NCAA violation and one-week suspension.

Georgia on-campus recruiting coordinator Daryl Jones has been suspended one week after a self-reported violation by UGA to the SEC. In a letter dated Sept. 30, the school told the conference that UGA's recruiting staff inadvertently sent out recruiting letters one day prior to being allowed, and that the envelopes were adorned with more than is allowed by NCAA rules.

NCAA bylaws prohibit schools from sending recruiting materials (including letters) to athletes until Sept. 1 of their junior year of high school.

So at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, UGA staffers went to the post office to mail out the letter.

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"It was their assumption that the mail was dropped off at the post office late enough on Friday afternoon that it could not be delivered to the intended recipient prior to Sept. 1," UGA's letter to the SEC states. "However, some of the prospective student-athletes did receive these mailings on the very next day, prior to Sept. 1 of their junior year of high school."

UGA said it had identified 12 recruits "to date" who had received the letter early.

But that wasn't the only problem with the mailings. NCAA bylaws only permit the outside of the envelope to have the school logo, in addition to the postage, return address and addressee information. The UGA envelope instead contained:

- A picture of the new Bulldog secondary logo, along with a Nike swoosh and the words: "PUZZLE PIECE 1."

- A promotion of the Georgia-South Carolina, wth the G logo and the South Carolina logo, along with the Nike swoosh.

As punishment, UGA reported several other minor actions, such as not calling the affected recruits for 60 days, and making members of the recruiting staff attend an NCAA seminar next spring. But the punishment of Jones is what stands out.

About Jason Butt

Jason Butt joined The Telegraph after covering high school sports for The Washington Post. A 2009 University of Georgia graduate, he's also covered the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons for CBSSports.com.